Well the problem with that is without a mic/pa, my voice is soft. I have no projection because my voice is low. I'm also using metal fingerpicks which amplifies the guitar quite a bit. I do realize the vocals are soft.

Vocal coach is one of the things on the never ending list that I have no money for at the moment. So I'm working with vocal training CD's currently

Regarding your use of metal fingerpicks. I used them too for decades because my nails are not strong & I kept sanding them off while making guitars & I play mostly fingerstyle.

About 15 years ago, after yet another pick went flying off during a gig into the dark shrubbery outdoor stage area that I couldn't find again, and I'd had it. I asked a musician friend & he sent me to a manicurist who works with many of Honolulu's best pickers.

I got acrylic nails built up on my right index, middle & ring fingers - about $7. And haven't looked back. It provided much better touch on the dynamic's of my playing & I could play more softly. It made ALL the difference. I still use a plastic thumb pick (Golden Gate, Fred Kelly, Dunlop or National)

HINT: They last longer (for me about five weeks!) if you have the manicurist make them about 3/16" longer than the end of your finger. Then YOU file them down to what you want & just maintain file them before you play. It makes nails thicker & they last much longer that way. Been working for me for a long time. Totally Worth the small amount of money.

I play with a flatpick, mostly strumming or alternating strumming with bass notes here and there. I personally have an issue when playing live where I get amped up and start playing too hard. I don't ever have this issue when recording, and it's taken me awhile to get my head around it. Some of it is adrenaline. Some of it is my ability to hear myself. Some of it is an attempt to build a dynamic after the songs start, without giving consideration to that in the first place. The result is that I'm heavy-handed from the get-go, and build from there. Bad idea.

This ultimately results in all sorts of trouble. For me, I often then end up rushing the song, etc, etc. It can also make it hard to keep up with vocally (both because of tempo and volume). I get a sense that your sense of timing is a fair bit better than mine, so it may just be a volume issue for you.

The main thing, though, is, when it comes to amplifying acoustic guitars...hard playing almost always sounds worse. Electronics in acoustics just don't deal with a super-heavy attack really well, from what I can hear.

Anyway, for me, the solution is to actually consciously think "mellow" before starting each song. It doesn't have to be a mellow song, but I want to just mentally mellow out before each song. Sounds goofy, I know. The result is that I tend to overplay yes, tend to rush the song less and tend to better maintain tempo. At the best, I hit the nail on the head, and the song comes together, with room to build toward certain parts, if the song calls for it. At the worst, I end up playing an overly-mellow version of the song, which almost always works for acoustic music - sometimes even better than the way I intended.

I'm really trying to develop a better "touch" with the instrument so I don't have to be so deliberate about things, but, for now, it's helping.

Word. All I do is write man. I got a backlog of about 20-30 full original songs. Problem is I don't know what works and what doesn't. You can never tell what people like. When I figure that out, then I'll record somewhere with someone that knows their stuff.

I'm late to the party and can't sift thru all the responses, but one quick thing on recording with a camcorder...

Positioning your amplifier in relation to the video recorder can make a WORLD of difference. Play around with it and see if you don't hear the difference. The video I watched of yours has the amp at a 30-45 degree angle to the video recorder. Try doing a direct line up to the recorder and see what happens.